Best Weight Plates

Add extra resistance to your workout and build stamina, endurance, and strength, with weight plates. At Offers.com, we’ll help you pick the best weight plates with our list, broken down by price, user reviews, star ratings, materials, adaptability for use alone or with a barbell, color-coded painting, and more.

CAP Barbell Olympic 2-inch Weight Plate, Gray, Single

OneFitWonder Black Bumper Weight Plate Pairs

Cap Barbell Black Rubber Bumper Plates

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On Amazon.com

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On Amazon.com

10th

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Our Score: 8/10

Body Solid Standard Black Iron Weight Plates

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On Amazon.com

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On Amazon.com

About Weight Plates

If you’ve already started lifting with a barbell bar and are ready to take your workout to the next level, then you surely need some weight plates. These plates are flat and disc-shaped, with a hole in the middle that can either fit them onto a bar, or that can be used as a handle if you want to use the weight plate by itself.

About Weight Plates

Adding weight to any exercise is the best way to create more resistance and increase your stamina, endurance, and strength. Many people, especially those who build their own home gyms, choose to use weight plates, which are the most versatile type of weights as they can be used on their own or with various barbells and dumbbells. Like their name would suggest, weight plates are flat, disc-shaped weights; they feature a hole in the middle that allows them to be fitted onto a bar or that can be used as a handle if you use the weight plate by itself.

The most important thing in buying weight plates, especially if you plan to use them with a weight bar, is to pick the ones that will fit your bar properly. A standard barbell bar is about one-inch in diameter, while an Olympic bar is two inches; the holes on weight plates correspond to one or the other. You can use an Olympic weight plate on a standard bar, but you will need an adapter or should be prepared for some extra movement. Some weight plates are tri-grip plates, which means they have three holes that operate as handles so you can use the plates alone for various moves.

The next biggest consideration is your budget, and how that plays into the material of the weight plates you choose. Most plates are made from one of four materials: cast iron, steel, rubber, and plastic filled with sand. Plastic vinyl plates are generally the cheapest option, but they are not known for their accuracy; however, if you are on a tight budget they will do the job. In the mid-price range, you’ll find solid cast iron, which may be painted, or may be solid black or grey. At the top of the line, you can choose from rubber or urethane-coated cast iron or steel plates. The steel plates tend to be a bit thinner. The rubber or urethane coating provides extra protection if you drop the weight.

Other features are mostly up to you, including color-coded painting to help you quickly identify what weight you need, and hand grips cut directly into the weight for easy carrying. If you are investing in a set of weights, you will likely also want to get a few different sizes so you can lift lighter for some exercises and heavier for others, and be able to add weight as you get stronger. The good news with weight plates is that even if you need to buy heavier ones later, you can still make use of your old plates by adding their weight to your bar for even more challenge.

If you’re looking for an extremely budget-friendly, vinyl set of weight plates, you can find very affordable options from Gold’s Gym. CAP Barbell offers several styles of cast iron weight plates with standard holes and tri-grip holes for gripping, also at a great deal.